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| SWAT team restores order at Ark. jail |
| By The Morning News |
| Published: 06/07/2004 |
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A SWAT team restored order in the Benton County (Ark.) Jail last Wednesday when about 30 inmates refused to return to their cells after lunch, officials said. Two inmates were examined at the Northwest Medical Center of Benton County emergency room after they complained of shoulder pain, but they did not appear to have any injuries, said Chief Deputy Don Townsend of the Benton County Sheriff's Office. The incident involved one pod of inmates, Townsend said. The pod holds a maximum of 32 inmates. Both Townsend and Capt. Hunter Petray, head of detention, said they didn't consider the disturbance a "riot." One flash-bang grenade was used by SWAT officers responding to the incident, Townsend said. Flash-bang grenades emit a disorientingly bright light and loud noise. A SWAT team is a special police unit trained to deal with violent and dangerous situations. Townsend said it is customary for inmates to be locked in their cells for an hour after lunch, so the jail staff can take a break. The inmates involved in the disturbance refused to be locked down. Instead, they dumped soapy water on the floor and acted unruly, he said. Most of the inmates involved in the disturbance, and all of the apparent ringleaders, are not locals awaiting trial or serving a sentence in Benton County, Townsend said. They are prisoners awaiting transfer to a state penitentiary and Pulaski County inmates held here because of overcrowding. These inmates tend to cause more trouble than locals, Townsend said. "They're not familiar with our rules. They're used to having more privileges" than prisoners receive in Benton County's no-frills jail, he said. |
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